The Daily Zeitgeist - The Zeitmare on Trend Street 11/27: War on Thanksgiving, Democratic Odds, The Irishman, Gabrielle Union

Episode Date: November 28, 2019

On this episode of the Zeitmare on Trend Street Jack and Miles discuss the "War on Thanksgiving", Democratic odds, and Gabrielle Union leaving America's Got Talent. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello the internet and welcome to this episode of the Zeitmare on Trend Street. My name's Jack O'Brien, that's Miles Gray. Who? You. Yeah. The guy over there, that other voice. That's me. I'm here.

There he is. Hey man, happy Wednesday before Thanksgiving, brother. Are you stoked? I'm stoked, man. I'm stoked up. I'm stoked too. I'm about to be, about to do a little little little something something this hot vague i like it keep it vague you know gonna be donating blood all right cats

out of the back well we'll talk about what we're doing uh for our war on thanksgiving because that's one of the things we're that's trending yeah, yeah. My family is planning on just having turkeys pack us, and that's the only way we're acknowledging the holiday. Like some weird thing, like you're restrained and then they unleash a gaggle of turkeys. What's a bunch of turkeys called? A gaggle. It is? No clue.

I know. I didn't know. You were too reflexive with that. So the war on Thanksgiving trending because in the Fox News narrative, Donald Trump won the war on Christmas because now we all say Merry Christmas. We used to not say that, but now we do. And now there's a war on Thanksgiving because there was an op-ed in the Huffington Post that said. Not an op, just an article. Just an article being like,

and we don't want to start a war on Thanksgiving or something crazy like that. Very clear. It was just about, we talked about it on the show, it was that article that was just about the carbon footprint of Thanksgiving. Yeah.

And meant at the very end, so clear up top, top and tail, we're both, look, I'm not here to smear the holiday. It's just interesting information given the era we're in because climate change. Just to put something in your mind. And they're like, oh, now liberals want to take away Thanksgiving.

Great. Yeah, and it was weird. So then it got more, I guess, momentum because at another rally, Trump just decided to say that, he's like, as we gather together for Thanksgiving, you know, some people want to change the name Thanksgiving. Well, he was doing some Trump jazz, some stand-up comedy at the Turkey Party. Yeah, exactly. They don't want to use the term Thanksgiving. Yeah. And that was true also with Christmas.

But now, everybody's using Christmas again. I have not met a single person who has said, don't say the word Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. Or Christmas. Or Christmas, yeah. The only time I know it is from people just being like, we're trying to be as agnostic as possible. Right. So we say happy holidays. Sure.

Yeah. And it's always company HR. Yeah. It's an HR. It's a corporate take to avoid a discrimination lawsuit. Yeah. What's next? We're all going to have to dress up as ladies?

That's my fear. Yeah. Personally. Well, you might want to embrace that fear. It might be powerful. It might empower you. I think I would look good, actually. Not according to those.

Those ladies pumps you have on look great on your feet. Thank you. I just shaved from the shin down. And just the front part of your leg, too. The back of your calf, a mess. Yeah, it's like kind of a leg mullet. Oh, gosh. Let's talk about Democratic odds heading into, this is the last you're going to hear of our voice for a couple days.

Yeah, like one day. For one day. We're taking off Thanksgiving to give thanks to- The almighty dollar. The almighty dollar. That's right. But I found this interesting, okay? Okay.

I'll come out and say it. I found it interesting. What'd you find interesting? So Nate Silver tweeted out what the odds are or where things are polling right now. His take is that Biden is tier one. Then you got Warren Sanders, Buttigieg, tier two. And it's unclear to him what order that second tier should be in. And then Harris and Bloomberg and Klobuchar, tier three.

And Yang. And he did not say Yang. He didn't put Yang in there because he's part of the mainstream media. Wait, but in this breakdown... In this national poll... Oh, got it. That's you looking at the national poll,

but he didn't even know how... He didn't even give Yang the benefit of the doubt. But he... So the way the polling breaks down biden's at 26 nationally warren's at 16.9 nationally sanders 16.5 then buddha judge 9.6 so i i would just look at that and be like warren and sanders are a little bit above buddha judge for his for his tiering system yeah but then you have Buttigieg at 23.9 and Iowa uh Sanders 18 Biden 17 um so I don't know it's Sanders is winning in New Hampshire uh and in second in Nevada and South Carolina and California so right I don't know does second place get you anything um first loser. First loser. My uncle used to say. Almost in hand grenades. But according

to Vegas, which is also fun to kind of keep an eye on. Yeah. They're the people who really know. Yeah. Biden is, well, because Vegas, people are actually putting their money where their mouth are. In Vegas, Buttigieg has been surging, or not even surging, just steadily creeping up. He's now in second, according to Vegas odds. Joe Biden is in first, plus 275. Buttigieg, plus 325. Elizabeth Warren, plus 350. Bernie Sanders, plus 550.

Bloomberg, plus 900. So that means if you bet $100 you win This amount of money I think I'm just going to Put my money on Tom Steyer then That's the biggest return for me Yeah

Actually the biggest is Julian Castro Yeah you would If you bet $100 you would win $125,000 No $12,500. Where are they, how are they creating these odds? I mean, it's just betting markets. So they're just taking pace on whoever's putting their money on? Yeah, they set an odd and then they'll like move it up and down based on like where the public money is going.

But it looks like the public don't know shit. Right. I mean, I don't know. I mean, more in the sense of like, really? Yeah. I mean, Biden, I get because most people at this point are, the election is too far out for them to even, like most people don't care about

debates or primaries and things like that. So like, oh yeah, cool. Biden? Yeah. Biden? Biden? Biden? Yeah. So that's interesting. I think it's probably smart to assume that Vegas and the public money is overestimating whatever the hot, like the fastest mover the clear number one back in november when like you know it didn't necessarily make that much sense that she would be like hands and head and shoulders above everybody else right and sanders i feel like is the other side of that

because he's been between plus 700 and plus 450 all along, but he's just kind of been there. He's just hanging out. Well, yeah, he has a huge supporter base that is very, very active, enthusiastic. But he's boring because he was in the last election or something. I don't know. I think it's weird. I feel like his image is starting to change a little bit more versus the last

election. I think because everyone sort of was like, look, it's Hillary's time. Let's just, like, please go away, Bernie Sanders. Let's all bow to the dynasty Rock La Familia. So I think it's changing a little bit. Because I think more and more people,

I think when you look at sort of how diverse that supporter base is too, he got love too as kanye says um uh the irishman is trending uh i was hoping it was because of me uh are you fully irish well you know jack o'brien you don't get much more irish well the name doesn't doesn't do a 23 and me and then find out you're Asian. And like, it opened my eyes. What is my identity? I would love that,

but I believe I am 90 something. Oh, really? I'm up there. Yeah. Maybe like I'm up there. I'm between 60 and 90. I haven't done 23.

Yeah. You probably shouldn't anyway. Yeah. I'll give them your DNA. But the Irishman is the Scorsese movie that is dropping on Netflix, I believe, this weekend. And people are wondering if it's going to fuck up the weekend box office because, like, Knives Out is coming out, the new Rian Johnson movie. Oh, I think everyone is loving that from what I've read. Yeah.

That's getting great reviews. Everyone is loving that from what I've read. Yeah, that's getting great reviews. But I guess they're wondering if people will just stay home because there's so much good streaming stuff, which this will be a good test for the overall theory. I've been purposefully holding back on Watchmen so I can just humiliate myself over the break. Just go all in.

Humiliate my eyeballs. Yeah, just throw the gravity blanket on, twist up the fucking swisher, and just go to a world of make-believe. Yeah. Also, and Mandalorian, too. There is a lot of shit. I haven't watched any Mandalorian.

Man. DeLorean. DeLorean. So I don't even know what all this baby yoga shit is. It's Baby Yoda. Baby Yoda. It was that controversial video of that Russian woman who's twisting a baby at the base

of their skull. I'm turning into my dad. Baby yoga. Baby yoga or whatever. What's his face? The guy from SNL. Drunk Uncle. Yeah, Drunk Uncle.

Baby yoga. Baby yoga Baby yoga Mango born again Yeah that's That's basically who I am Everyone's voting for Barney Sandals Barney Sandals Bernie Sanders or Barney Sandals

Or Barney Sandals I just love saying Barney Sandals That's what they should have said And talked about how Hillary Clinton shops at Barney Sandals That's what they should have said And talked about How Hillary Clinton Shops a Barney's For sandals Ah

That should have been Their 2016 campaign You should have been On her comms team You missed out by that much His comms team That would have been A good message for her

Would it? I don't know Just taking shots Just like yo check it out It's like this guy's Old Barney's sandals Over here Anyways

Will you watch The Irishman is my question. Miles, go. Eventually. Not this weekend, though. No, not this weekend. I mean, it depends on how much free time I find myself. Also, because this period, too, LA is getting colder.

Thank God. I mean, wow, it's dropped below 70, please pray for us. Now I'm in the mood to watch trash holiday films too. So I don't know if I have the bandwidth to watch something good versus just something I can watch with my mouth agape. Friend of the pod and host of sister podcast Night Call, Emily Yoshida was saying that she does not see what the hubbaloo is. Hullabaloo.

Of holiday films? About the Irishman. Oh, oh. It being, she's just like, it's so long. Sure. I think it's three hours. But I guess if you're a Scorsese stan, then of course, this is like, you got to watch it. Yeah, yeah.

For sure. And Gabrielle Union is trending. Yeah. What's going on with her? She's no longer going to be on America's Got Talent. Didn't know she was on it. I didn't either. Don't watch a lot of TV like that, like network TV.

And apparently, there were a few incidents that she was bringing up while she was working on the show that NBC, I mean, you know, they have a great track record of hearing their employees when they raise concerns and then immediately addressing. Fox News Lite, you mean? Yeah. Yeah. Or maybe just the same thing. So Jay Leno, who's had that take this year, boomer take, like, yeah, everything's too

politically correct nowadays. Yeah. Apparently, when they were filming the 14th season of America's Got Talent there was an instance where they were passing a picture around of Simon Cowell and his dogs and then Leno said that his dogs could quote could be on the menu at a Korean restaurant

yeah what? yeah dude like that old fucking dumb ass I don't even that is the most dumb fucking take that Asian people eat dogs think. Get the fuck up out my face with this dumb shit. It's just fucking ignorant, racist. And again, Gabrielle Union was like, this is fucking not fucking good.

Like this is whack as fuck. And they said that Gabrielle went to producers and said, can you take this to like HR? Because you're not, this is not a good environment when you have people, you don't necessarily have to be Asian to be offended by that. But when someone is so casually doing like dumb, tired ass, ignorant takes. I'm sure NBC HR's take was, what? He didn't say it in front of any Koreans. Yeah, pretty much.

What? He didn't say it in front of any Koreans. Yeah, pretty much. That's sort of their attitude because when that – apparently there was a joint statement from NBC and the production company that said, America's Got Talent – this is a quote. America's Got Talent has a long history of inclusivity and diversity, and both our talent and the acts championed by the show. The judging and the host lineup has been regularly refreshed over the years, and that is one of the reasons for

AGT's enduring popularity. NBC and the producers take any issues on set seriously, unless it's a white person doing racist shit. Right. In which case, we fire the person of color who brings it to our attention. Who was being a damn rabble rouser. Right.

Oh, okay. Wasn't there also something with Blackface? Yes. There was another incident where Gabrielle Union and other people who worked on the show were like, there's a dude whose act, who's about to perform for us in the recorded TV version. The act involved all kinds of costume switches and doing a bunch of character bits. And one of them was Beyoncece in which this man would change the color of his skin so uh gabrielle union asked the producer like yo just cut this dude from the lineup like you know what he's about to do like just fucking what the fuck is the point yeah um and they're like we'll take it out later was the was the line they gave we'll fix it in

post essentially but she was like no no you like i don't even want to subject the live audience the people in this studio yeah from having to see this dumb shit um and again they're like nah we're gonna let it cook and we'll just cut it later and that's what they did once again nbc just crushing it i think i do wonder at this point is it consciously doing the we're gonna bridge bridge the gap to Fox News thing? I don't know. I think this is just what happens. This is just a mindset that's prevalent across all the boardrooms of these companies. That's true.

They're not diverse. They're all of a certain generation. There's just no – they're like, what's the problem? It's been wildly successful up to this point. Now I'm doing something wrong? This is out of control yeah everybody's your sensitivity and then finally uh just to put the cherry on top and this variety article they were also saying that gabrielle union was like had to deal with all kinds of racist bs criticisms because of her hairstyle because they were quote too black for the viewing audience what the what does that

even mean like oh how dare this woman not uh you know have expressed her internalized white supremacy by doing uh more straight hairstyles or whatever if she wants to do her hair of the fuck she wants that's her prerogative and that's what's really again and this has been like a thing that's been talked about in like certain simonell shows, like that there's just like this culture, like toxic racist culture on these shows. And one person, I think in this article, was saying that like when Cowell is talking about, quote, switching up the judging lineup, it's usually only applies to women and people of color. Yeah. When you look at that, that does seem to be how he does. But you know what?

Gabrielle Union, keep doing your thing. But it's funny. Julianne Hough, who is also there for the Jay Leno incident and was also let go at the same time as Gabrielle Union, she was like, I had a wonderful time. And, you know, I can – this is the part that's so revealing. And I'm happy to continue my working relationship with NBC. She has two Christmas specials coming out. Don't bite the part that's so revealing. And I'm happy to continue my working relationship with NBC. She has two Christmas specials coming up. Don't bite the hand that feeds. See, this is where you need to be.

Like when you're an ally. You gotta be an ally. You gotta put the bag at risk sometimes. And not that it would put it at, I mean, I guess it would if you look at the very tit for tat nature of show business and how retaliatory things can be. Yeah. But that's really when you need to have somebody's back. it would if you look at the very tit-for-tat nature of show business and how retaliatory things can be. But that's really when you need to have somebody's back. And you don't have to say, oh, shame on NBC.

This motherfucker needs to go. You could also say – Don't come out and, like, contradict her. Yeah, don't be like, I love it. You know, you can also say, you know, I did also witness these things, and they were – I found them to be offensive. I'm sure NBC specifically asked her to do that, right? Like I'm sure she didn't just proactively. I think it's just like, you know,

it's that unwritten language of show business too, where you, it's the same reason why people like, like they're like predatory producers exist. You know, there's like an ebb and flow of power and energy and you want to always be on the right side of that. So you're like, well, I don't, I don't get to stick my neck out when i got two specials coming up yeah all right this has been our longest uh trending episode uh so we're gonna we're gonna jump off here and go

go eat some turkey today we're eating turkey with tom brokaw but have a great have a great thanksgiving we'll be back on on Friday with a special episode of our favorite things so tune in to find out alongside us what that is what consumer goods we love